Help I have trouble eating under 2000 cals a day!

lorib75

I have not read all of the posts. I just want you to know, it is possible to lose weight eating normal food. You just can't eat 2000 calories of normal food unless you are burning some of those calories by exercising.

Prepare for naysayers............ Have you tried Keto/ low carb / Paleo? Those plans are much more filling. I followed Atkins for 2 weeks ( then caught a stomach virus from my school aged children ) and rarely went over 1600 calories per day. I ate lots of green veggies and had yummy eggs, bacon, and sausage for breakfast, chicken breasts and a garden salad for lunch, baked fish or grilled chicken for supper. Just my opinion. Try it.

drchimpanzee

is anyone eating like a normal person and losing?

I hate to sound harsh but the problem is your perception of "normal" has ben warped by the typical modern lifestyle. Always in a rush, eating out of a box, snacking on junk, and just grabbing whatever is available without any thought or effort. The bottom line is eating right takes at least a little effort and planning. Look at my food diary (yesterday and most days because today is my slack day). A TON of food usually and only 2600ish calories. My advice is think about what you're going to eat not only tomorrow, but for the next week. Prep your food the night before or a couple days before if it keeps. Eat out of a box as little as possible. Stop snacking on garbage. Eat more protein to stay full. 200 calories of cottage cheese or tuna will keep you full WAY WAY WAY longer than a pack of crackers. Veggies veggies veggies. They need to dominate your plate, followed by lean meats, followed by carbs.

pennsciteach

Okay - still reading responses and still feel that they fluid issue is the problem.

Okay - say your base rate for the day with your activity level is 2300. that means any day you eat over that you gain. If when not dieting you eat 3000 a day - your are gaining almost a quater a pound a day. that is more than a pound a week. So first you have to stop gaining - then move to losing. I had to do the same thing. You are messing up your metabolism by not eating balanced. You need to drink more. Please - drink more.

Other people can eat more calories - but their base metabolism might be higher and their activity level - or their BMI might be lower. Muscle burns calories thru hydration and breathing normally - fat does not. Fat is storage. So if they have more muscle than you they will lose more without doing more activity than you. Hence they can eat more. You cannot keep healthy muscle with hydration.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

Honestly, I have no problem eating around 1,600 a day eating regular food - I work a physically demanding job. Feel free to send me a FR to look at my diary, but yeah I feel like you you have to reprogram to understand what "normal" portion sizes are and adding in A LOT more veggies.

aa62579

My 2 cents.

You can't use a HRM like that, it's just not accurate. You might be burning 2,000 cals at work, but that is just an estimate. Have you tried wearing a pedometer and seeing how many steps you take?

900 calories for one meal is not a big deal to me. To compensate for that, I have had to choose that I either get one large meal per day or more snacks. I don't get both. I choose to save my big meal for the evening so that I can either have it as one big meal or a regular meal and a snack before bed. It took some playing around, but I have finally come up with a breakfast that I enjoy, that is something I can keep at work, and will keep me full until lunch if needed. It's not for everyone, and is probably higher in carbs than many here would like, but it works for me. I have around 1/2 cup of 2% cottage cheese, 2 Tablespoons of a jelly, jam, preserve, fruit spread, etc., and 1 Tablespoon of benefiber powder. For 258 calories, although it is 40g of carbs, I get in 15g of protein and 5g of fiber with only 4g of fat.

I make a deal with myself - start with this. Eat it, drink a cup of coffee and drink a glass of water. If I am still hungry after all of that, then I eat a snack - I keep baby carrots, cubed butternut squash, apples, bananas, and light string cheese here.

Lunch I try to keep simple and often have a can of soup. Yes, it is high in sodium, and those cans are tricky because each can is "about 2" servings, which tends to translate into 2.2 for Progresso, but it's still around 350 cals. I try to bring homemade soup some too if I can. I'll often eat a banana or other fruit with it and that keeps lunch under 500 calories.

With breakfast, lunch, and snacks, I try to stay under 900 calories, so that I can have 700-800 left for dinner. (I get around 1600 cals per day and plus an extra 125-200 from exercise each day.)

I have things going on right now that sometimes don't let me cook a healthy dinner and it ends up being fast food. I've gone through and figured out a list of choices from the local places, so that I at least make the best of it. Last night I gave into TOM cravings and had a small order of fries. Those, plus a grilled chicken sandwich, and a packet of spicy ketchup ended up at 801 calories. So even though I wouldn't call it a "healthy" meal, it did fit into my calories for the day.

The night before that, I made a salad for supper (lots of veggies, but also a small amount of meat, cheese, croutons, and dressing) (555 calories) and later I had a bowl of cheerios before bed (175 calories), so this ended up being 730 calories for the evening.

I'm not the healthiest eater yet - I'm working into this slowly so that I am making a long term change and I need to do that slowly. When I first started, I didn't really change what I was eating, just how I was eating. When I would get my plate, I would divide out 1/4 of it not to eat. If I ate everything else, drank a full glass of tea and was still hungry, I could eat more, but I found out that after time and drinking that amount of liquid, I could normally get by not finishing my plate.

I still have to make deals in my head - drink a glass of water, wait 20 minutes, and if I am still hungry, I can eat. I am slowly retraining myself to tell thirst from hunger, and to recognize that I do not have to clean my plate. I have thrown away more food over these past 5 months than I have in a long time. There was guilt at first, but as the pounds have come off, I've been able to get over that.

elephant_in_the_room

so, the thread is only a day old and has something like 162 answers and counting, including a mild flame war... Not bad.

If you read all the posts, if you still read to here.... You wanted a advice:

Okay, so basically I need SOME ADVICE from people who have had trouble eating under 2000 cals a day...

I know all the simplistic answers make healthy choices, pack your lunch, stay away from junk etc... but i work long hours on my feet all day and at work i grab the nearest thing around, ive been good these last couple of days ....but still i ate way over 1500 and felt like was darn starving myself.. how do you do it? Seriously my stomach grumbles and im having hunger pains.. i dont see how people sustain themselves off salad and a few chunks of chicken breast or fruit and water.. i feel like i ate nothing....

i can sympathise. You say you are up on your feet all day. I had a sedentary job and ran half an hour every day. I felt starved on 2000 also. And I was normal weight, BMI 22. Oh, food, glorious food.

But to me... If you want to lose weight, you seem to make the wrong food choices. For me, the question was not, how can I eat my favourite foods/normal and stay under 2000 calories, the question was, how can I fit as much satiety as I can into 2000 (or whatever calorie goal).

Hamburger and tacos may be satisfying, but the calories/satiety ratio is bad. And you may not want to eat only lean chicken with salad, but at least it has a high satiety value for low calories. So, particularly look out for foods with a high satiety value.... Those also tend to be 'healthy' food, because lean protein and high fibre foods make you very full.

It takes a change in habit and mindset, and it takes time. I used to not eat apples. I slowly, steadily and intentionally got myself used to eating apples. Apples are a wonderful food: their fibre (pectin) makes you feel full for quite a while. They are sweet, yet healthy. . I had a period where I cut them up into slices, then one when I would always have a whole apple, then another period where I always cut them into slices.

You grab whatever food is around in the vending machine. Then plan ahead. Get yourself a lunchbox and pack some healthy foods that are quick to eat. Apple slices are good. Carrot sticks are good. Carrot sticks with a small tub of hommus dip are a great snack whch give a lot of satiety. Other people have suggested other things. Try cottage cheese (high protein).

I almost believe initially you should focus more on your food habits than on the calories. If you can't switch to all-healthy at once, then do it gradually. Go to the vending machine only once per day, try to make every other snack a low calorie healthy one. Back to that dreaded chicken with salad: don't have it for every meal, but for every other meal. Or of course other lean meat with vegetables. Planning ahead and cooking ahead like many have suggested is also a good idea. If you are used to soft drinks -- try making every other glass a glass of water.

All the best.

laurengaugler

I haven't read all of the replies made, but I have read many of them and I think there is a lot of sound advice ... but it seems as though you are mocking or arguing with the people that are giving it. I'm unsure why you are asking for help if you don't really want it?

Please don't feel as though I'm attacking you when I say this, but I don't think your mind is right for this journey. Your perception of "normal" and lack of nutritional knowledge will sabotage you before you even get started. I looked at your food diary and you aren't logging food, but rather "quick calories" so it is impossible for us to help you. Also, by logging the "quick calories" there is a likelihood that you are logging inaccurately. From the food that you described you were eating it sounds as though you are not getting very much nutrition, which is probably why you are so hungry. I didn't see one fruit or vegetable in your entire description (and no, lettuce on a burger does not count as a vegetable) and that is what your diet should primarily be based on...fruits and vegetables.

When I say the word diet, I don't mean your calorie restrictions and weight loss goals, but I mean diet as is what you should be eating every day. THAT is normal, regardless or trying to lose weight or not. Eating marshmallows by the bagful at work is NOT normal.

I'm sorry, but the first thing you have to fix is where your head is, otherwise you are in for countless unhappy journeys up and down the scale. You have to want it before you can do it. Like, you have to REALLY WANT it. And it doesn't sound like you are ready for that. You can't lose weight doing what you've always done. Obviously that doesn't work or you wouldn't be in the situation you are in. Trust me, you can eat TONS of food for very little calories if you eat the right food, in fact, frequently at the end of the day I am struggling to get up to calorie goal and I feel like I eat constantly and am almost never hungry. I am happy to help if you need advice, motivation or support.

Confuzzled4ever

My mom was always the same way.. she'd tell me how we're fat becuase of genetics, because she's a nurse.. on her feet all day.. very physcial job and she could never lose anything. What was her motto at work? Dessert 1st! (good moto really LOL) Because you might not get to finish your lunch break! Also.. nurses grab anything at the nurses station and eat it. Patient families are always bringing food in, so are other nurses and co-workers.

My mom finally lost some weight after she stopped working and started doing water areobics and she started eating food I cooked her. Not that it was teh healthiest thing you could get, but leaps and bounds better then what she was eating. She finally had to accept that it was her choices and her attitude towards food that is keeping her overweight. She is still overweight, but she has decided she is happy and doesn't want to lose it, despite me trying to change her mind.

I think that's where you are. You recognize the problem, but are as of yet unwilling to actually do what is required to change. Recognizing the problem is a good step.. accepting that you are the reason it exists and you are the only one who can change it is the next, then actually changing.. that's the hardest but most vital change.

Until you are really ready.. all you're doing is looking for excuses as to why you can't lose weight, while not really changing anything.

Also.. i see a lot of mention of "normal" eating.> What do you mean? fast food and candy? that's not normal. Although i'd probably define normal differently then you would. Normal for me is lots of fresh meat and veggies. I grew up that way. Eating meat we raised ourselves, eggs from our chickens and veggies from our garden. I rarely ever had processed foods, high fat foods, boxed anything growing up. When I became an adult, even when eating that stuff, I never once thought it was normal. How I eat now is closer to normal then how I was eating before. If you're view of normal is eating fast food and candy then I suggest the problem lies in your thought process.

Nothing worth it is ever easy.


ETA: WOWZA! I need go to through salt detox from just reading your diary.. hint.. salt laden food make you retain water weight.. they keep you fat. chips/fastfood/candy/ pretzels/ etc.. ok to have some once in a while.. but not all the time!

danasings

I have not read through all the responses so this may have been covered, but how do you know how much you are eating..you are not logging your food - just a bunch of quick adds. Start logging.

Yes, this.

skinnyinnotime

Okay, so basically I need SOME ADVICE from people who have had trouble eating under 2000 cals a day...

I know all the simplistic answers make healthy choices, pack your lunch, stay away from junk etc... but i work long hours on my feet all day and at work i grab the nearest thing around, ive been good these last couple of days about not eating a crazy amount of cals but still i ate way over 1500 and felt like was darn starving myself.. how do you do it? Seriously my stomach grumbles and im having hunger pains.. i dont see how people sustain themselves off salad and a few chunks of chicken breast or fruit and water.. i feel like i ate nothing.. plus who wants to eat two hard boiled eggs for a meal wtf.. you know how it(2 boiled eggs) is on the menu in every restaurant:huh: :indifferent: ... i want to eat like normal.

like for breakfast i had 2 homemade soft tacos and a baked potato and it came out to @ 900 cals for two small tacos and a baked potato...

for lunch a homemade hamburger and fries almost 600 cals.. and it not like im using fatty meat... 90% lean ground beef is 200 for a quarter pound, bread is 100 cals, cheese 100, condiments about 50, potato and ketchup @ 150 cals...

you get my point... is anyone eating like a normal person and losing? I mean at work im gonna grab something convenient if i missed breakfast and am starving and the only thing in my vending machines are junk! chips and cupcakes etc... im not going to be hungry... this seems way more difficult than it should be.. Eat Less Cals, Exercise = Lose Weight.. but Doesnt seem like it works like that for me.. seems like im going to have to be in pain and starve and eat carrots and grass...

So you want to 'eat like normal' normal for what? Being overweight, which is what you are and obviously don't want to be.

You're eating calorie dense food but can't seem to see this. What's wrong with eating vegetables, they don't make you "starve" and be in "pain", you really need to rethink your relationship with food.

Stacemace83

wow, just read through your food diary...you eat potato chips EVERY SINGLE DAY. and almost every meal is fast food. i would think that should answer your own questions

NovemberJune

I agree with what a lot of others have said

-you can't use a hrm to estimate your calories while working, you'd need a bodybugg or bodymedia for that
-your idea of normal eating is definitely not.... normal
-you should be able to eat 2000 calories per day and lose (I couldn't but I have a sedentary job)
-you need to really log your food, not quick add calories
-if after a few weeks of really logging and having a deficit of 500 calories per day, if you don't lose anything, you might consider seeing a dietician.

When I was on a deficit, eating around 1600-1700, I ate normal food, and ate a lot of food, and it was pretty easy. Now that I'm on around 2000 calories, sometimes I feel super hungry and need MOOOOOOOOOORE! So I can understand that. Good luck!

JustJennie1

You really need to start logging correctly and that includes weighing your food. It's a PITA for sure however it is the ONLY accurate way to assess how many calories you're actually consuming.

When you "quick add" your calories how do you know how much you're actually consuming? Are you measuring out the portion of meat that you're putting in your tacos as well as what ever else you're adding to it? The same goes for the burger and fries. Are you weighing your burger? Counting out the french fries that you eat? Measuring the condiments you're putting on your stuff? If not then your calories aren't accurate and you're probably eating way more than you should which could be why you're gaining weight.

Also SKIP the vending machine! I get that you're working 10-11 hour shifts however there are 24 hours in a day and there is plenty of time for you to make some things at home for breakfast and lunch and snacks and bring them to work. Don't have a refrigerator? Bring a cooler and pack your food there. I used to do that because the fridge at work had no room.

Also you're probably over estimating your calorie burn which again could be contributing to the over eating and the non weight loss.

Weebs628

It sounds like your definition of "normal" needs to change. 900 calories for one meal would be normal for, maybe, a linebacker. Or an unhealthy person. I think I eat like a "normal" person. I don't restrict anything, if I want it, I have it. And I am usually right where I need to be for calories. If I am going to eat more I exercise and "earn" some more calories. Check out my diary, it is open.

I eat 900 calorie meals

Lol. Me too!! Usually dinner...

jsd_135

i dont follow tdee i dont calculate the cals i lose from my job, one night i wore my hrm and it said i burned over 8,000 cals in a 10 hour shift... even if i cut that in half and say i burn 4000 plus the exercise i do, plus i walk from work most days which i also dont factor in.... the only days i see loss is when i eat under 2000 cals days like today when i ate 2300 i'll get on the scale and see nothing....

I know you two dont understand...

If you're serious about getting advice here, I suggest you work on your writing. I'm really having trouble following your train of thought. Using short paragraphs to develop a single idea would help. Lose the ellipses (. . .); periods are perfectly adequate to complete a thought. Capitalization is also good. A lot of very smart people have worked out these writing conventions over centuries, to the benefit of humankind.

As for your problem: My understanding is that MFP/TDEE is telling you that you can eat more than 2000 calories, but you're not losing weight despite your active job. But you have had success losing weight when you keep your calories under 2000. But, you can't eat less than 2000 because you feel miserable (hunger pains). So you want to know if it's at all possible to eat a "normal" diet that's less than 2000 calories.

The controversy here is what you consider normal versus what a lot of commentators consider normal. My guess is that when you say "normal," you're really saying you don't want to eat a lot of diet-y foods (celery sticks, carrots, low-fat/low-cal products, bean sprouts) or have to cut out a lot of things you like. Well, I'm the same way. When I started here, my goal was to fit my regular dinners (I'm a fan of Cook's Illustrated and Epicurious) into MFP's plan. I've generally been able to do it, but I have to watch the portions if I'm going to keep within my limits. For example, I've had a fair amount of mashed potatoes in the last week (made with butter and whole milk). The difference between pre-MFP eating and now is that I no longer fill half my plate with them. I consider this a "normal" non-diet diet. And it's been pretty successful: Since early January, I've lost 15 pounds of the 25 I set out to lose.

That said, I don't just eat this kind of food. I also eat a fair amount of fruits and vegetables, nuts, yogurt, etc. I think this is where you're running into trouble. You mention eating things like tacos, baked potatoes, hamburgers and French fries, so there's no way of knowing if you're eathing any of the other "good" stuff as well. If you're not, then you're probably feeling hungry on a 2000 calorie diet because your body is hungry for nutrients. Simply put, a baked potato, French fries, a hamburger bun, and two flour tortillas in one day is setting you up to feel hungry all day.

In short, I would follow the advice given much earlier in thread to track what you normally eat (really track it, don't cheat with Quick Calories), and then see how you can start tweaking things with more nutritionally dense foods and portion control. I bet over time you'll be able to get down to 2000 calories (which is where it sounds like you need to be to lose weight) and not feel deprived.

Best of luck.

tdotgirl

Just looked through you diary and you either had quick calories or you don't log. Just by looking at your diary I'm sure you're eating more than the 2000 calories you say you're eating. You need to cook or learn to cook and measure your food. You will have a proper calorie count, it take time and effort. There is no quick fix for this!

Good luck in your journey

jsd_135

It sounds like your definition of "normal" needs to change. 900 calories for one meal would be normal for, maybe, a linebacker. Or an unhealthy person. I think I eat like a "normal" person. I don't restrict anything, if I want it, I have it. And I am usually right where I need to be for calories. If I am going to eat more I exercise and "earn" some more calories. Check out my diary, it is open.

I eat 900 calorie meals

Lol. Me too!! Usually dinner...

Not unheard of for me either.

gvanleer

The bottom line is you'll lose weight if you consume less calories than you burn. Make sure you have protein with each meal and cut back on the carbs, especially for breakfast - they are going to give you a short-lived boost and next thing you know you are craving again. Cut out the processed food. Breakfast Tacos are horrific...
Don't ever drink pop - probably the single biggest contributor to obesity in the world today. Diet pop is just as bad as it creates sugary cravings. (plus aspartame is a poison...)
It's all to do with smart choices. Yes you are going to have to do a little planning - prepare some healthy snacks the night before, have an idea what you are going to have for breakfast and log EVERYTHING you eat. Once you see it Black & White you'll realise the choices you are making are maybe not the best.
Focus, stick with it, and decide if you are really serious about eating healthy and getting in shape. Only you can decide, but we are here to support if needed!
Good Luck!

jsd_135

When I started in January for the first week I was going over by 2000 calories and that made me realized how much I was eating . Then I started making myself eat at least 300 calories less everyday until I got a hang of it and didnt feel deprive.

This is a very concise way of saying what I wrote a few minutes ago upthread. Nicely put.

cgarand

Using short paragraphs to develop a single idea would help. Lose the ellipses (. . .); periods are perfectly adequate to complete a thought. Capitalization is also good. A lot of very smart people have worked out these writing conventions over centuries, to the benefit of humankind.

This is beautiful, but I love my ellipses...